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Anytime you arrive at an event dressed similarly to another guest, things can feel a bit awkward. But the Vatican is notoriously secretive. You had no way of knowing what kind of huge hat the pope would be wearing tonight. Nevertheless, you’re in this mess, here’s what to do:

Try Not to Draw Attention to the Hat
Many times, we think everyone is looking at us, noticing every flaw we have and every piece of clothing we’re wearing. But, in reality, everyone else is busy with their own life, obsessing over their own clothes and flaws. How many people were wearing a Yankees cap on the subway this morning? What about something weirder, like a Mets hat? See? You have no idea. If you act natural and don’t mention it, it’s highly unlikely other guests will even notice two people are wearing enormous pope hats.

The iconic heads hewn from volcanic rock may have been wobbled into place by the Rapa Nui people who created them

The post How the Statues of Easter Island Walked Into Place appeared first on Nautilus.

Thanks for reaching out.

Yes, I’m interested in your one-week project, which you’ve described as a “sprint”—a fun euphemism for seven days of sheer panic.

When do you need me?

Darn, I’ll actually be on a cruise with my family that week, but I suppose I could find a quiet corner near the soft-serve machine to crack open my laptop.

What’s my day rate, you ask?

It’s steep—but commensurate with my over fifteen years of experience in a highly specialized field.

You don’t have the budget for that?

I see.

Well, in the interest of working together in the future, I will, as a courtesy, cut my rate in half this one time, knowing we’ll likely never work together again.

But it’s still worth it because, as a freelancer, I get to work remotely.

And by “work remotely,” I mean that I will graze the vast breakfast buffet until lunch and take an obnoxiously long and slightly rocky shower before opening a single work-related email.

What’s that?

You need me to come into the office for this project?

Hard-to-diagnose illnesses aren’t ‘all in the mind’. But recognising their links to mental health can help reduce the pain

- by Karina Waluk

Read on Psyche

It is our biggest blind spot, a bizarre experience that befalls us every day, and can’t be explained by our need for rest

- by Vladyslav Vyazovskiy

Read on Aeon

The connection between our massive star and the tiniest microplankton

The post Could the Sun’s Orbit Shape Evolution? appeared first on Nautilus.

Next week, the University and College Union (UCU) will ballot more than 65,000 university workers, asking them to back strike action in a fight for fair pay, better working conditions, and to protect jobs. The vice-chancellors who ‘lead’ our universities have quietly increased their own salaries by £40,000 over the past three years, leaving them […]

The Grayzone has geolocated the underground bunker of an important military command and control center nestled within a densely populated Tel Aviv neighborhood. Known as ‘Site 81,’ the U.S.-built facility houses a hyper-secretive intelligence base. When Iran struck a series of targets in the heart of north Tel Aviv with ballistic missiles on June 13, Israeli authorities immediately cordoned off the area to prevent journalists from filming the damage. “The building on this compound was just hit,” Trey Yingst of […]

The post Secret Israeli military bunker located under Tel Aviv tower struck by Iran, analysis shows first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post Secret Israeli military bunker located under Tel Aviv tower struck by Iran, analysis shows appeared first on The Grayzone.

UG Solutions, which works with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, said its “cadre of American veterans” was ready to keep working in Gaza.

The post We Aren’t Finished in Gaza, U.S. Military Contractors Say appeared first on The Intercept.

Faux disinformation expert Pekka Kallioniemi gained notoriety by smearing critics of the Ukraine proxy war. Since being unmasked for peddling pornographic representations of minors, Kallioniemi has been caught promoting fraudulent KGB documents to slander a journalist as a Russian spy. In October 2024, mainstream Canadian defense journalist David Pugliese suffered “the political equivalent of a drive-by shooting,” according to a local publication called The Walrus. Citing alleged KGB documents, a prominent lawmaker accused Pugliese of being a longstanding Soviet/Russian spy […]

The post Pekka-philia: disgraced porn profiteer turned pro-Ukraine ‘disinfo expert’ could face legal action first appeared on The Grayzone.

The post Pekka-philia: disgraced porn profiteer turned pro-Ukraine ‘disinfo expert’ could face legal action appeared first on The Grayzone.

The 2025 Green Party conference was a potent mix of optimism and the mild chaos of an event which wildly exceeded its organisers’ expectations. The word on every staff member’s lips was ‘surprise’. Surprise at the over 2,000 members who descended on the venue; surprise at the unprecedented number of journalists applying for passes (even […]